Instagram Travel Thursday: Vianden Castle, Luxembourg

Once again I’m linking up with Katja at Skimbaco Lifestyle and some other fine travel bloggers for Instagram Travel Thursday. Check them all out- you might be inspired to visit someplace new! Today I’m talking about our stop at Vianden Castle in Luxembourg.

Wow- what a week it has been. We’ve been home since Monday night and I still don’t feel caught up. Guess that means it was a good trip, right? It was very nice and we had a chance to check out some truly beautiful places in both Germany and Luxembourg- a country that has intrigued me since I was a sixth grader in middle school.

We decided to add an hour to our trip home and check out a ‘castle’ in Luxembourg. We found it easily- and once arrived in the city stopped for a quick cup of coffee to make our game plan. It was a rainy Monday and we weren’t sure what to expect- but thankfully it was open and the rain kept the tourist crowds to a minimum. We saw a few tour busses go by, but for the most part it was a very quiet afternoon. The castle was only open until 5pm, so we had to get a move on.

Set atop a hill overlooking the absolutely charming city of Vianden, this impressive structure has evolved since being built between the 11th and 14th centuries.

You can read more about the history of the castle here from their website (also check out the photo gallery!)- which boggles the mind. I try to imagine what life was like way back then- and to be honest I can’t. To see the ruins inside the castle is humbling. There’s a really cool 3-D video in an upper room which shows the transformation from its early days as a simple fort, and it’s pretty impressive to see how it has changed over the many hundreds of years.

To start, we walked up the slick cobbled stones to the castle. Entry was around €6 per adult and the kids were free. We did not opt for the audio tour (too hard for us to wrangle and listen) but thankfully most every display had the information in several languages including English.

We followed the easy to read placards- and entered the first hall to see knights and medieval weapons.

The boys were impressed with the Morning Star

Moving on, we entered sleeping chambers, entertainment halls, meeting rooms and more. Each room had tapastries and decor which had made its way from one castle or another from a very long time ago. The boys loved it and ran from room to room guessing what they’d see next.

L to R: bed, dining hall, fancy privy, fireplace

Checking out the old water supply for the castle.

Valley of Vianden

If you’re in the vicinity or looking for a family-friendly castle to visit in the region, I highly recommend checking this one out. You’ll have to park the stroller at the gate, but the stairs are very accessible for children as young as 3 (while holding hands!) and the large rooms don’t make for knocking things over. The front desk attendants could have been a wee bit friendlier- but hey. You can’t have it all.

As my husband said: Overall, a beautiful castle and pretty nice way to spend a Monday!

All photos are mine.

Hop over to check out the rest of these great IG travel posts linked up on Skimbaco Lifestyle and her tip of the week.

Popping over from IGTravelThursday…I have never been to Luxembourg but would love to see these beautiful sights. It’s so green and lush there.
It would be so exciting to just do a castle tour of Europe. Wouldn’t that be an amazing trip?